Second Broward deputy gets prison in Ponzi case

FORT LAUDERDALE – A second former Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy has been sentenced to prison for falsely arresting a woman as part of a $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme operated by a disbarred lawyer.

A federal judge today sentenced Jeff Poole to a year and a day behind bars for a civil rights conspiracy conviction. Poole had faced up to 10 years but got less because he cooperated with prosecutors.

Court documents show Ponzi schemer Scott Rothstein used high-level contacts in the sheriff’s office to have Poole arrest the ex-wife of one of Rothstein’s friends on trumped-up drug charges. The friend wanted to use the arrest in a child custody battle.

Former BSO Lt. David Benjamin got five years behind bars for ordering the arrest.